4/4/2014 1:00 AM PDT

EXCLUSIVE

The employees at Uncle Bubba's Seafood & Oyster House weren't sent packing empty-handed ... TMZ has learned they were given a business card and a list of restaurants in the area that are hiring. Better than nothing, right?

As TMZ previously reported, Bubba's -- the restaurant at the center of the Paula Deen racist controversy -- closed down Thursday morning out of the blue ... with some employees finding out on Facebook and others hearing the news from the restaurant once they arrived at work.

One employee told us they were paid through Wednesday and got vacation pay along with two weeks severance.

The employee said the whole ordeal was particularly hurtful, since so many staffers stuck up for the Deen family during the controversy -- some patrons threw food at them and they still defended Paula.

4/3/2014 11:00 AM PDT

Uncle Bubba's Seafood & Oyster House -- the place where Paula Deen's empire crumbled -- just closed for good, and the way employees found out is just shocking.

The company did NOT tell its employees in an open meeting or face-to-face. The workers showed up this morning only to find the sign down and appliances being removed from the joint.

The only explanation was posted on the restaurant's Facebook page this morning -- "Thank you for 10 great years. Uncle Bubba's is now closed."

People were pissed off, including one woman who says, "My mother worked there for over 8 years and no one called her!!! My fiance also worked there no one called him, in fact a UB manager called him LAST NIGHT to get his availability for next week!"

Another wrote, "My mother put in some hard work for years with you & she finds out when she shows up for work this morning to be escorted by a police officer to get her belongings."

You may recall ... the GM of Bubba's sued Paula ... and during her depo Paula recounted the story where she once used the N word to describe an African American man who held her up.

2/12/2014 12:15 PM PST

Breaking News

Paula Deen -- like the Phoenix -- is rising again ... thanks to a $75 MILLION infusion of cash from a Phoenix-based investment company that could put Paula's wares in the back pocket of airplane seats.

Jahm Najafi clearly thinks the Paula Deen brand is still a marketable commodity, because his company is fronting the cash.

As for Najafi's plan ... we found it extremely interesting that in 2012 he bought SkyMall magazine ... which you've probably leafed through and then failed to buy anything from inside. So the question -- will Paula's pots and pans end up in the mag?

As you know ... Paula was unceremoniously dumped by virtually all of her sponsors after confessing she used the N word to describe a person who robbed the bank she was a teller at in the 80s.

By the way ... in addition to SkyMall, Najafi owns the Book of the Month Club and Columbia House.

9/16/2013 2:01 PM PDT

EXCLUSIVE

The man who allegedly attempted to extort $250,000 from Paula Deen has just been sentenced to 2 years in prison, TMZ has learned.

As we reported, a man named Thomas Paculis contacted Deen's attorney claiming he would release "true and damning" information about the celebrity chef's n-word usage if he didn't receive a huge check. The FBI tracked Paculis down and he was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts of extortion.

Paculis struck a plea bargain with prosecutors last month, agreeing to plead guilty to one count of extortion. In exchange, prosecutors dropped the remaining count.

Paculis was sentenced today to 2 years in a Georgia prison, plus one year of supervised release and 40 hours community service. He has already been remanded into custody.

Interestingly, the court also ordered Paculis to attend substance abuse counseling. We called Paculis' attorney to find out why -- so far, no word back.

9/15/2013 7:12 AM PDT

Paula Deen is choosing to ignore her epic fall from grace -- telling TMZ, she doesn't need to make a comeback after her n-word scandal ... because she "never went anywhere."

Fact is ... Paula's reputation has been destroyed -- but the celebrity chef is refusing to wave the white flag.

We talked to Paula as she was flying to Houston ... where yesterday she got a standing ovation at a cooking convention, then broke down in tears -- a full 180 from the stiff upper lip routine she gave us.

Interestingly, the person by Paula's side at the airport ... none other than Hollis, her dutiful bodyguard. You may remember the New York Times interview, when she mentioned Hollis was "as black as that board,"referring to the black background.

She does have some kind words for 2 Chainz' new cookbook. Mayonnaise and butter, yum!

8/25/2013 12:45 AM PDT

EXCLUSIVE

Paula Deen is headlining a giant food expo in Houston next month, but you wouldn't know it ... because two huge ticket sellers are REFUSING to put her name or her picture in the advertising, TMZ has learned.

The event is the Metro Cooking and Entertainment Show ... and Paula was supposed to be the main attraction, but sources connected with the expo tell us, Groupon and Livingsocial are actively trying to distance themselves from anything Deen-related.

Instead, the companies are featuring much lesser known chefs on their ads -- like Terry French and Martie Duncan -- and ticket sales are taking a huge hit.

A rep for the expo tells us, "It's more difficult -- I'm not going to kid -- not having those tools [Paula and her sons] to help sell tickets, but we are fighting for Paula."

Paula has been with the expo for 8 years, and the rep says tickets sold much more quickly when the chef was featured on the advertisements ... but not this year ... and there's nothing Metro can do about it (except on its own website).

FYI, the expo will be Paula's first public appearance since she settled the racial discrimination lawsuit filed against her in Georgia.

8/23/2013 1:10 PM PDT

Breaking News

Paula Deen has SETTLED the lawsuit that sent her empire crashing to the ground.

Lisa Jackson -- who worked as General Manager at Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House -- filed the suit, claiming racial and sexual harassment. The racial claim was dismissed recently because Lisa didn't have a dog in the fight -- because she's white.

Now Jackson's lawsuit has been dismissed, and all signs point to a settlement. The terms appear to be confidential.

8/15/2013 8:05 AM PDT

Less than two months after Paula Deen went on TV and proclaimed that "everyone should be treated equal" ... her husband Michael Groover was seen walking out of a Chick-fil-A restaurant.

While they do have great food (really great food), is Chick-fil-A REALLY the best place for Paula's hubby to grab a meal ... in the wake of the chef's "I'm not a bigot, please take me back America" campaign?

FYI -- it wasn't too long ago Paula appeared on TV and said, "I believe that every creature on this earth — every one of God's creatures — was created equal, no matter who you choose to go to bed at night with, no matter what church you go to pray. I believe that everyone should be treated equal and that's the way I was raised, and that's the way I live my life."